They waited for them for hours in the rain and cold of this seemingly endless winter in Joinville, Santa Catarina state. In this exhibition centre that once hosted the country’s largest arms fair before falling victim to its own success and being moved to São Paulo, the campaigners can hardly believe their eyes. On this particular day, it must be said that the Bolsonaro family’s supporters are spoiled with choice: there are not one, but two Bolsonaros onstage.
The eldest son, Flavio – nominated by his father Jair as the Liberal Party’s candidate for the presidential election – is accompanied by his brother, Carlos, 43 years old, who is standing for the Senate. Because it has never been ruled by the Workers’ Party!” chants Flavio, rallying the crowd to vote for his younger brother, who is trying his luck in a senate run for the first time in this southern region. Read moreFlavio Bolsonaro probed for corruption as Brazil election tightens A Rio de Janeiro city councillor for over 20 years, Carlos – known as "Number 3" – is a true Carioca who has parachuted into Santa Catarina.
Regularly mocked for his exaggerated "ch" sounds typical of the capital city, he moved to the south just a few months ago – drawn by “the honesty of its hard-working, conservative people”, as he regularly asserts at rallies– and is standing for a senate seat that would be far harder to secure in the tourist capital, where the political landscape is far too competitive. That day in Joinville, Carlos Bolsonaro’s running mate Carol de Toni drew on his experience as as a city councillor. "He helped run a city like Rio, so for our far safer and less chaotic state, it is a godsend! ...
We are a hard-working, conservative people who uphold the values that Jair Bolsonaro stood for." It was as if the aura of his father – sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup and barred from taking part in the campaign – were projected into the son’s body. To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading.
To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Jair Bolsonaro is a hero to us all. So if he can be a little bit with us through his sons, what a chance!” says de Toni.
Indeed, the portrait of the former president, like a talisman, takes pride of place at every campaign stop. Behind Flavio, Carlos takes a back seat. Even in his older brother’s absence, his media appearances are few.
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